Power saving in Wi-Fi devices utilizing bluetooth

ABSTRACT

The present description provides methods, computer program products, and systems for saving power in Wi-Fi devices utilizing Bluetooth. A Wi-Fi radio transitions to deep sleep mode from active mode while a Bluetooth radio remains active. An active Wi-Fi connection to the access point can be maintained by the station while in deep sleep mode as needed to prevent being disassociated. Responsive to the indication of data packets waiting at the access point, sent over the Bluetooth radio, the Wi-Fi radio at the station can be transitioned from the deep sleep mode to the active mode. A notification of active mode is sent to the access point currently associated with the Wi-Fi radio so that packets can be forwarded.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to computer networking, and morespecifically, to saving power in Wi-Fi devices utilizing Bluetooth.

BACKGROUND

Today mobile computerized devices (e.g., smart phones, laptops, andtablets) are surpassing stationary computerized devices for user accessto the Internet and other networks. One of the main limitations ofuntethering from cords is battery-life. Consumers also seek to reduceunnecessary power usage of corded devices as well. An additional stainis that as network usage becomes more pervasive and mobile processingfunctionalities increase, more power is needed.

Conventional sleep modes turn off most components of a mobile device inorder to preserve battery life. Sleep modes typically allow a device torestart without all of steps needed after a complete power down forquicker access to the device.

Problematically, sleep modes cause a device to lose connectivity withnetwork resources. For example, maintenance of a Wi-Fi connectionrequires periodic synching between the device and an access point usefor connecting to the Internet and other networks. As a result, resumingnetwork activity after sleep mode can take an additional period of timeafter the device wakes up.

Another problem with putting a device into sleep mode is thatintervening messages sent to the device are missed. For example, theWi-Fi radio is turned off, so Wi-Fi messages sent from chat sessions,e-mail updates or other asynchronous communications are put on hold.Once the device wakes up from sleep mode, and restores a networkconnection, even more time is needed retrieve updates and some arecompletely lost.

Therefore, what is needed is a technique that saves power in Wi-Fidevices utilizing Bluetooth, or other low-power communication channels.

SUMMARY

The aforementioned shortcomings are addressed by methods, computerreadable media (non-transitory), and devices for saving power in Wi-Fidevices utilizing Bluetooth.

In one embodiment, a notification of deep sleep mode is sent from astation to an access point currently associated with the Wi-Fi radio.The Wi-Fi radio at the station transitions to deep sleep mode fromactive mode while a Bluetooth radio remains active. An Wi-Fi connectionto the access point can be maintained by the station while in deep sleepmode as needed to prevent being disassociated. For example, an activeassociation between a station and an access point can be maintained asactive in an internal data structure, a very low power operationrelative to actively maintaining a connection. The active state can besubsequently restored by loading active state information from theinternal data structure.

In some embodiments an indication is received over the Bluetooth radio,of data packets destined to the Wi-Fi radio waiting in a packet queue ofthe access point. Responsive to the indication of data packets, theWi-Fi radio can be transitioned from the deep sleep mode to the activemode, although in some embodiments, a transition is depending uponfurther conditions (e.g., after a certain period of time, or only if acertain priority level of packets are waiting). A notification of activemode is sent to the access point currently associated with the Wi-Firadio so that packets can be forwarded.

Advantageously, Wi-Fi devices save power by entering deep sleep modewhile maintaining a Wi-Fi connection and without missing importantcommunications, utilizing a much lower power Bluetooth connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings, like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples ofthe invention, the invention is not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a system to save powerin a Wi-Fi device utilizing Bluetooth, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a more detailed block diagram illustrating a station of thesystem of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a more detailed block diagram illustrating an access point ofthe system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram illustrating communications betweencomponents of the system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating a method, in a station,for saving power in a Wi-Fi device utilizing Bluetooth, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating a method, in an accesspoint, for communication with Wi-Fi devices that are power savingutilizing Bluetooth, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computing device,according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Summary of Disclosure

The shortcomings of the prior art are addressed by methods,(non-transitory) computer program products, and systems for saving powerin Wi-Fi devices utilizing Bluetooth, as described herein. In deep sleepmode, various configurations can be implemented. In one embodiment, theWi-Fi functionality is turned off while the station 110 remains active.In another embodiment, the station 110 is mostly turned off andBluetooth functionality remains active. Alternatively, the Bluetoothfunctionality can have its own active/sleep mode. In other embodiments,various degrees of the combination of functionality are possible to savepower. Deep sleep mode can also be referred to as sleep, stand by, powersaving mode, or the like.

Generally, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that theexamples set forth herein are non-limiting and only illustrative ofwidely-applicable principles. For example, Although Wi-Fi and Bluetoothare described herein as primary and alternative networks, respectively,other combinations of wireless protocols are implementable. Furthermore,virtual port services and SDN (software-defined networking) services canoptionally be used in combination with packets destined for power savingdevices for additional features.

II. System Save Power in a Wi-Fi Device Utilizing Bluetooth (FIGS. 1-3)

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a system to save powerin a Wi-Fi device utilizing Bluetooth, according to one embodiment. Thesystem 100 includes a station 110 and an access point 120, coupled to anetwork 199 (e.g., a LAN, WAN, the Internet, a cloud-based network, adata network, a cellular network, a hybrid network, or the like). Thesystem 100 is merely an example of many possible configurations whichcould include more access points, a controller, additional stations,routers, switches, firewalls, and the like. In other embodiments, aseamless mobility service running on the system 100 provides auniquely-assigned and persistent BSSID (blind service set identifier)permitting the station 100 to move from one access point to anotherwithout reconfiguration. In other embodiments, an SDN controller usesOpenFlow rules to centralize how data packets destined for a station indeep sleep are handled on a data plane of the system 100.

The station 110 and the access point 120 are coupled in communicationprimarily through a Wi-Fi channel 131. The components are also coupledin communication through a Bluetooth channel 141. In some embodiments,the Bluetooth channel 141 includes repeaters. Positioning of therepeaters helps match Bluetooth coverage range to the Wi-Fi coveragerange, due to the inherent line-of-sight limitation of Bluetooth whichhiders the coverage range.

The station 110 includes a deep sleep controller 112 to transition intoa deep sleep mode from an active mode responsive to certain conditions.For example, if no packets or a low number of packets is received over aperiod, the station 110 may be wasting power to maintain an activeconnection in a full power connection. Initially, the deep sleepcontroller 112 registers Bluetooth communication information (e.g., adestination address) with the access point 120, as being associated withthe station 110. In an embodiment, the station sends a notification tothe access point 120 of going into deep sleep to prevent the accesspoint from disassociating an active connection (using either Wi-Fi orBluetooth). In deep sleep mode, various configurations can beimplemented. In one embodiment, the Wi-Fi functionality is turned offwhile the station 110 remains active. In another embodiment, the station110 is mostly turned off and Bluetooth functionality remains active.There can be more than one degree of deep sleep mode. Alternatively, theBluetooth functionality can have its own active/deep sleep modes. Inother embodiments, various degrees of the combination of functionalityare possible to save power.

The deep sleep controller 112, from time to time, sends a minimal amountof necessary data to maintain an active connection with the access point120. For example, the deep sleep controller 112 can cause the station110 to wake up in order to send a data packet over a Wi-Fi channel. Inanother example, the data packet is sent over a Bluetooth channelwithout waking up the station 110. In still another embodiment, the datapacket is sent while the station 110 remains in deep sleep mode. Aspecific protocol can govern how often and what kind of packets arenecessary to maintain the Wi-Fi connection. As a result of maintainingthe active connection, data packet continue to be forwarded to theaccess point 120 in order to reach the station 110 as a finaldestination.

The deep sleep controller 112 receives a notification of awaitingpackets over the Bluetooth channel from the access point 120, in anembodiment. The notification can be sent immediately and each time,after a certain amount of accumulation, or periodically. Further, anoptional embodiment uses priority indications so that the deep sleepcontroller 112 can take more immediate action if needed. In response,the station 110 transitions back to the active mode from the deep sleepmode. The station 110 then transmits a notification to the access point120 which returns awaiting data packets. Alternatively, certain datapacket, such as those with low data rates or a low overall amount ofdata, can be transferred directly over the Bluetooth connection withoutawaking station 110. Another option is to check for waiting packetsduring temporary wake-ups to maintain the Wi-Fi connection.

The station 110 can be, for example, a personal computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a mobile computing device,an Internet appliance, a non-wireless device modified to have wirelesscapabilities, or any other computing device, mobile or stationary. Thedeep sleep controller 112 comprises hardware, software, or a combinationof both. The deep sleep controller 112 can be an application (e.g., adaemon or mobile app) or be part of an operating system. Configurationscan be set programmatically by applications, or manually through a userinterface or user-configured policy. The station 110 is wirelesslycoupled to the access point 120 and assigned a BSSID, generally, as agateway for network communications on a wired backbone or other wirelessstations of the system 100.

The station 110 is set forth in further detail below with respect toFIG. 2A.

The access point 120 includes a deep sleep manager 122 to track modes ofmany stations along with the station 110. A look-up table or databasecan store identifications of stations 110 (e.g., MAC addresses) alongwith a current state of each station and alternative communicationchannels (e.g., Bluetooth addresses). When notifications are receivedfrom the station, the current station may be updated. In one embodiment,if a maintenance notification is not received after a certain period,the active connection can be disassociated. Based on the state of astation, the access point 120 stores packets until awakened, or forwardsthe packets immediately when currently awake.

The access point 120 can be a single access point, one of several accesspoints operated by an entity (e.g., a store, a building, or acloud-service). For example, the access point 120 can be an AP 110 or AP433 (modified as discussed herein) by Meru Networks of Sunnyvale, Calif.The deep sleep manager 122 comprises hardware, software, or acombination of both. Configurations can be set programmatically byapplications, or manually through a user interface. Each access point120 is preferably connected to the network 199 (e.g., gateway, switch,router, hub, or another access point that is connected to the network199) via a wired connection, but in some embodiments, such as a meshnetwork, the uplink connection is wireless. The access point 120 can beset-up in various configurations to provide wireless coverage areas. Theaccess point uses beacons to advertise one or more BSSIDs and to staysynched with connected stations. In another embodiment, thefunctionality is incorporated into a switch or router.

More detail about the access point 120 is discussed below with respectto FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2A is a more detailed block diagram illustrating the station 110 ofthe system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. The station 110further includes the deep sleep controller 112, a Wi-Fi radio 210 and aBluetooth radio 220. In some embodiments, different combinations ofprotocols, or more than two protocols, can be implemented. The deepsleep controller 112 bridges communications refers to rules from apolicy or configurations to manage which communication channel packetsare sent from and to react to commands received within packets on onechannel (i.e., using the Wi-Fi radio 120 or the Bluetooth radio 220).

The Wi-Fi radio 120 conforms to IEEE 802.11 standards, such as a, g, n,ac, and the like. The Wi-Fi radio 120 operates at a physical layerutilizing a transceiver and antennae to transmit and receive packets ona wireless channel using electromagnetic principles. The Wi-Fi radio 120operates in conjunction with higher layer software of the OSI stack thatpasses down information from upper layer applications. The deep sleepcontroller 112 can insert packets from various layers, based on aparticular implementation. The Wi-Fi radio 120 can be implemented ondirectly on a motherboard, on an internally attachable Wi-Fi card, or anexternally attachable USB connection, for example.

The Bluetooth radio 220 conforms to Bluetooth standards such as BLE(Bluetooth Low Energy), or v1, v2 or v3. The Bluetooth radio 220 alsouses a transceiver and antennae to transmit on a wireless channel usingelectromagnetic principles, albeit at different frequencies and usingdifferent symbols, relative to the Wi-Fi radio 210. The deep sleepcontroller 112 can also send packets to the Bluetooth radio 220,depending on a current mode. In some embodiments, the Bluetooth radio220 remains available for other applications besides the deep sleepcontroller 112, and my temporarily disrupt other connections whenneeded, or accommodate multiple communication channels.

FIG. 2B is a more detailed block diagram illustrating the access point120 of the system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. The accesspoint 120 comprises the deep sleep manager 122 along with a Wi-Fi radio311, a Bluetooth radio 321, a packet queue 331 and a beacon module 341.The deep sleep manager 122 uses rules from a policy or configurations tohandle communications sent to and received from the Wi-Fi radio 211 andthe Bluetooth radio 221. Further, the deep sleep manager 122 cangenerate commands sent to the deep sleep controller 112.

The Wi-Fi radio 211 and the Bluetooth radio 221 can be similar to, andcompatible with, the Wi-Fi radio 211 and the Bluetooth radio 221 of thestation 110. However, Bluetooth radio 221 can be modified to handlemultiple connections by actively tearing down connections to remainavailable, by using a version that accommodates multiple connections, orby implementing multiple radios, for example.

The packet queue 231 can be any type of appropriate computer storage,including a cache, a processor memory, a RAM memory device, or a drivestorage device. In some embodiments, the packet queue 231 can storepackets for stations in deep sleep mode, separate from other packets, sothat different rules and handling can be applied.

The beacon module 241 can be an application that periodically generatesbeacons sent out to advertise BSSIDs and to synchronize connectedstations. The beacon module 241 can share access to the Wi-Fi radio 211along with the deep sleep manager 122. In some embodiments,communications regarding deep sleep modes is distributed within beacons.For example, one or more fields can indicate whether or not packets arewaiting in the packet queue 231 for a particular MAC, or for aparticular BSSID in the case of uniquely-assigned BSSID of the virtualport service.

FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram illustrating communications betweencomponents of the system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.

While in an active mode, the station 110 sends a notification of deepsleep mode using either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to the access point 120(interaction 310). When using Wi-Fi to send the notification, packetsuse a MAC address of the station 110 as a source address and a BSSID forthe access point 120 as a destination address. The access point 120responds with an acknowledgment over either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to thestation 110 (interaction 320).

While in a sleep mode, the station 110 periodically sends requiredinformation to the access point 120 in order to maintain a connectionutilizing either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels (interactions 330A-C). Whenusing Bluetooth to send the information, the packets use the Bluetoothradio of the station 110 as a source address and a Bluetooth radio ofthe access point 120 as a destination address. Eventually, the accesspoint 120 sends a notification to the station 110 that packets arewaiting in a queue for the station 110 (interaction 340).

Once again in active mode, the station 110 sends a notification to theaccess point 120 that packets can be sent (interaction 350). Inresponse, the access point 120 sends waiting packets to the station 110using Wi-Fi (interaction 360). When using Wi-Fi to send the queuedpackets, the BSSID of the access point 120 is used as the source addressand the MAC address of the station 110 is used as the destinationaddress.

III. Methods for Power Saving in a Wi-Fi Device Utilizing Bluetooth(FIGS. 4-5)

FIG. 4 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating a method 400, in astation, for saving power in a Wi-Fi device utilizing Bluetooth,according to one embodiment. The method 400 can be implemented, forexample, in the system 100 and those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize other systems for implementation.

A Bluetooth radio of a station is registered with an access point inassociation with a Wi-Fi radio (step 410). A Wi-Fi radio transitions todeep sleep mode from active mode while a Bluetooth radio remains active(step 420). The transition in includes sending an indication from thedevice to an access point, and in some embodiment, awaiting a responsefrom the access mode until entering the deep sleep mode. An active Wi-Ficonnection is maintained with an access point during the deep sleep mode(step 430). In one case, the Wi-Fi radio sends necessary packets fromtime to time either while remaining in deep sleep mode or whiletemporarily waking up. In other embodiments, the Bluetooth radiomaintains the Wi-Fi connection. If an indication of data packetsaddressed to the device are received (step 440), the Wi-Fi radio istransitioned from deep sleep mode back to active mode (step 450). Theindications can be received while the Wi-Fi device is temporarily awake,or can be sent through the Bluetooth channel.

FIG. 5 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating a method 500, in anaccess point, for communication with Wi-Fi devices that are power savingutilizing Bluetooth, according to one embodiment. An indication of Wi-Firadios transitioning to deep sleep mode from an active ode while aBluetooth radio remains active is received (step 510). Data packetsaddressed to devices in deep sleep mode (step 520), an indication ofdata packets is sent to the Bluetooth radio for the devices is sent(step 530).

III. General Computing Devices (FIG. 6)

Many of the functionalities described herein can be implemented withcomputer software, computer hardware, or a combination, as shown in FIG.6.

The computing device 600 is an exemplary device that is implementablefor each of the components of the system 100, including the wirelessnetworking device 130. The computing device 600 can be a mobilecomputing device, a laptop device, a smartphone, a tablet device, aphablet device, a video game console, a personal computing device, astationary computing device, a server blade, an Internet appliance, avirtual computing device, a distributed computing device, a cloud-basedcomputing device, or any appropriate processor-driven device.

The computing device 600, of the present embodiment, includes a memory610, a processor 620, a storage drive 630, and an I/O port 640. Each ofthe components is coupled for electronic communication via a bus 699.Communication can be digital and/or analog, and use any suitableprotocol.

The memory 610 further comprises network applications 612 and anoperating system 614. The network applications 612 can include a webbrowser, a mobile application, an application that uses networking, aremote application executing locally, a network protocol application, anetwork management application, a network routing application, or thelike.

The operating system 614 can be one of the Microsoft Windows® family ofoperating systems (e.g., Windows 6, 8, Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000,Windows XP, Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Vista, Windows CE, WindowsMobile, Windows 6 or Windows 8), Linux, HP-UX, UNIX, Sun OS, Solaris,Mac OS X, Alpha OS, AIX, IRIX32, or IRIX64. Other operating systems maybe used. Microsoft Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

The processor 620 can be a network processor (e.g., optimized for IEEE802.11), a general purpose processor, an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a reducedinstruction set controller (RISC) processor, an integrated circuit, orthe like. Qualcomm Atheros, Broadcom Corporation, and MarvellSemiconductors manufacture processors that are optimized for IEEE 802.11devices. The processor 620 can be single core, multiple core, or includemore than one processing elements. The processor 620 can be disposed onsilicon or any other suitable material. The processor 620 can receiveand execute instructions and data stored in the memory 610 or thestorage drive 630

The storage drive 630 can be any non-volatile type of storage such as amagnetic disc, EEPROM, Flash, or the like. The storage drive 630 storescode and data for applications.

The I/O port 640 further comprises a user interface 642 and a networkinterface 644. The user interface 642 can output to a display device andreceive input from, for example, a keyboard. The network interface 644(e.g. RF antennae) connects to a medium such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi fordata input and output.

Many of the functionalities described herein can be implemented withcomputer software, computer hardware, or a combination.

Computer software products (e.g., non-transitory computer productsstoring source code) may be written in any of various suitableprogramming languages, such as C, C++, C#, Oracle® Java, JavaScript,PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, AJAX, and Adobe® Flash®. The computer softwareproduct may be an independent application with data input and datadisplay modules. Alternatively, the computer software products may beclasses that are instantiated as distributed objects. The computersoftware products may also be component software such as Java Beans(from Sun Microsystems) or Enterprise Java Beans (EJB from SunMicrosystems).

Furthermore, the computer that is running the previously mentionedcomputer software may be connected to a network and may interface toother computers using this network. The network may be on an intranet orthe Internet, among others. The network may be a wired network (e.g.,using copper), telephone network, packet network, an optical network(e.g., using optical fiber), or a wireless network, or any combinationof these. For example, data and other information may be passed betweenthe computer and components (or steps) of a system of the inventionusing a wireless network using a protocol such as Wi-Fi (IEEE standards802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11i, 802.11n, and802.11ac, just to name a few examples). For example, signals from acomputer may be transferred, at least in part, wirelessly to componentsor other computers.

In an embodiment, with a Web browser executing on a computer workstationsystem, a user accesses a system on the World Wide Web (WWW) through anetwork such as the Internet. The Web browser is used to download webpages or other content in various formats including HTML, XML, text,PDF, and postscript, and may be used to upload information to otherparts of the system. The Web browser may use uniform resourceidentifiers (URLs) to identify resources on the Web and hypertexttransfer protocol (HTTP) in transferring files on the Web.

This description of the invention has been presented for the purposes ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form described, and manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the teachingabove. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical applications.This description will enable others skilled in the art to best utilizeand practice the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to a particular use. The scope of theinvention is defined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A computer-implemented method for power saving in a Wi-Fidevice of a wireless network utilizing Bluetooth, comprising the stepsof: sending a notification of deep sleep mode to an access pointcurrently associated with a Wi-Fi radio; transitioning the Wi-Fi radioto deep sleep mode from active mode while a Bluetooth radio remainsactive; maintaining an active connection to the access point while indeep sleep mode, comprising transmitting at least one packet concerningthe Wi-Fi radio connection to the access point using the Bluetoothradio; receiving an indication, over the Bluetooth radio, of datapackets addressed to the Wi-Fi radio; responsive to the indication ofdata packets, transitioning the Wi-Fi radio from the deep sleep mode tothe active mode; and sending a notification of active mode to the accesspoint currently associated with the Wi-Fi radio.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the Wi-Fi radio transitions to deep sleep mode responsive toat least one of: a number or rate of packets received, a duration ofinactivity, a station entering sleep mode, a policy, or user input. 3.The method of claim 1, further wherein the Wi-Fi radio transitions todeep sleep mode responsive to receiving an acknowledgment from theaccess point of the deep sleep notification sent.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein maintaining the active connection comprises at least one of:maintaining active state information in a non-volatile internal datastructure; and periodically transmitting a packet to the access pointusing the Bluetooth radio concerning the Wi-Fi radio connection, usingactive state information stored in the non-volatile internal datastructure.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the activeconnection comprises: temporarily waking up the Wi-Fi radio toperiodically transmit a packet to the access point using the Wi-Fi radioconcerning the Wi-Fi radio connection.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: responsive to transitioning to deep sleep mode, storingconnection information concerning a connection to the access point;responsive to transitioning back to active mode, retrieving connectioninformation concerning the access point from a memory, the connectioninformation including a BSSID for the access point.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: identifying a request to turn on the Wi-Firadio in a payload of a packet received by the Bluetooth radio, thepacket having the access point as a source address and the Bluetoothradio as a destination address; and responsive to identifying therequest, generating a command within an operating system of the deviceto turn on the Wi-Fi radio.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: retrieving connection information concerning the accesspoint from a memory, the connection information including a BSSID forthe access point; and sending packets from the Bluetooth radio, thepackets using a MAC address of the Wi-Fi radio as the source address andthe BSSID of the access point a destination address.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: registering the Bluetooth radio with theaccess point associated with the Wi-Fi radio.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing source code that, when executed,performs a method for power saving in a Wi-Fi device of a wirelessnetwork utilizing Bluetooth, the method comprising the steps of: sendinga notification of deep sleep mode to an access point currentlyassociated with a Wi-Fi radio; transitioning the Wi-Fi radio to deepsleep mode from active mode while a Bluetooth radio remains active;maintaining an active connection to the access point while in deep sleepmode, comprising transmitting at least one packet concerning the Wi-Firadio connection to the access point using the Bluetooth radio;receiving an indication, over the Bluetooth radio, of data packetsaddressed to the Wi-Fi radio; responsive to the indication of datapackets, transitioning the Wi-Fi radio from the deep sleep mode to theactive mode; and sending a notification of active mode to the accesspoint currently associated with the Wi-Fi radio.
 11. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein in the method, the Wi-Firadio transitions to deep sleep mode responsive to at least one of: anumber or rate of packets received, a duration of inactivity, a stationentering sleep mode, a policy, or user input.
 12. The computer-readablemedium of claim 11, wherein in the method the Wi-Fi radio transitions todeep sleep mode responsive to receiving an acknowledgment from theaccess point of the deep sleep notification sent.
 13. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein in the method maintainingthe active connection comprises at least one of: maintaining activestate information in a non-volatile internal data structure; andperiodically transmitting a packet to the access point using theBluetooth radio concerning the Wi-Fi radio connection, using activestate information stored in the non-volatile internal data structure.14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein in the methodmaintaining the active connection comprises: temporarily waking up theWi-Fi radio to periodically transmit a packet to the access point usingthe Wi-Fi radio concerning the Wi-Fi radio connection.
 15. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method furthercomprises: identifying a request to turn on the Wi-Fi radio in a payloadof a packet received by the Bluetooth radio, the packet having theaccess point as a source address and the Bluetooth radio as adestination address; and responsive to identifying the request,generating a command within an operating system of the device to turn onthe Wi-Fi radio.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereinthe method further comprises: retrieving connection informationconcerning the access point from a memory, the connection informationincluding a BSSID for the access point; and sending packets from theBluetooth radio, the packets using a MAC address of the Wi-Fi radio asthe source address and the BSSID of the access point a destinationaddress.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the methodfurther comprises: registering the Bluetooth radio with the access pointassociated with the Wi-Fi radio.
 18. A Wi-Fi device in a wirelessnetwork to power save utilizing Bluetooth, the Wi-Fi device comprising:a processor; and a memory, comprising: a deep sleep controller to send anotification of deep sleep mode to an access point currently associatedwith a Wi-Fi radio, transition the Wi-Fi radio to deep sleep mode fromactive mode while a Bluetooth radio remains active, transmit at leastone packet concerning the Wi-Fi radio connection to the access pointusing the Bluetooth radio, receive an indication, over the Bluetoothradio, of data packets addressed to the Wi-Fi radio, responsive to theindication of data packets, transition the Wi-Fi radio from the deepsleep mode to the active mode, and send a notification of active mode tothe access point currently associated with the Wi-Fi radio.